The billionaire spending big on Pa. court races

COURT SPENDING

A political group almost entirely funded by Pennsylvania's richest resident has contributed one out of every three dollars raised this year by candidates running in critical statewide judicial races.

The group, Commonwealth Leaders Fund, has spent over $2.7 million, the vast majority to support the Republican candidate for state Supreme Court.

Also this week, the Office of Attorney General has brought additional charges against Herm Suplizio, the suspended city manager for DuBois. Many of the new charges relate to a bag containing nearly $94,000 in cash that was delivered to City Hall in early May.

And finally, expanded voter ID requirements are back on the table, this time as part of a bill to move the date of Pennsylvania's 2024 presidential primary. 

"Even in the 2024 election, there may be more of a [turnout] bounce because of the pivotal nature of Pennsylvania in the electoral college."

—Charles Stewart, a professor of political science at MIT who studies elections, on the possible impact of automatic voter registration here

Millions for EMS providers caught up in budget battle

A prolonged legislative fight over education is blocking $20.7 million in funding that cash-strapped emergency medical services providers say is desperately needed to keep them afloat.

The main budget bill passed by both legislative chambers and signed by Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro this summer includes a $20.7 million allocation to increase reimbursements for ambulance services. But it’s one of roughly a dozen line items for which spending can’t begin until the legislature passes code bills to direct it. 

The EMS funding is a fraction of the $45.5 billion budget lawmakers passed this year. It’s not especially controversial, even among Republicans usually wary of new spending, as some of the need is concentrated in rural, conservative areas. 

“It is very frustrating because for every month that goes by the legislature does not help EMS, another EMS agency is in danger of closing,” said Heather Sharar, who heads the Ambulance Association of Pennsylvania. “We need sustainable funding.”

The code bills are stalled amid a conflict over education funding. In June, the GOP-controlled state Senate passed a budget they negotiated with Shapiro that included $100 million in taxpayer dollars for private school vouchers. State House Democrats balked, and Shapiro changed course and vetoed vouchers from the budget bill. 

There has been little movement in the standoff since. 

The state Senate recently advanced a bill that would enable some uncontroversial spending, including the EMS money, along with a second measure that funds vouchers and includes some stalled Democratic priorities. But the Democrats who control the state House have remained adamant that they want to pass one bill that includes their priorities and doesn’t include vouchers.

The delay is a big deal for Sharar and others concerned about keeping ambulance services afloat. 

There are several EMS business models around the commonwealth: nonprofits, municipally-owned services, and for-profits. All get mileage reimbursements through Medicaid, Medicare, and private insurers, as well as via direct payments from uninsured patients. 

There’s little up-to-date state or federal data on how much of an ambulance trip these reimbursements cover. Still, Sharar said reports from EMS providers are consistent: “Medicare does not cover the cost. Medicaid does not cover the cost,” she said. 

One EMS agency estimated at a county meeting that it loses $120 every time one of its ambulances responds to a call, according to an anecdotal report from earlier this year by the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania and the state Department of Community and Economic Development.

The new funding in the budget would boost Medicaid reimbursements to be comparable with Medicare, plus eliminate a rule that stopped EMS providers from billing for the first 20 miles an ambulance traveled. 

Sharar and EMS providers have already said the money (and another increase in reimbursement rates last year) isn’t enough to offset issues in the industry, which is notorious for its low wages. 

“You could go to work at Arby's or a Sheetz and make as much as an EMT,” Sharar said.

But it’s better than nothing, she added. 

“I see agencies that are struggling,” she said. “I have members that are writing to me, ‘What's going on? Are we going to see anything?’ And I can't speculate because the legislature isn't moving the meaningful legislation that we need. So it is — it is frustrating.” —Katie Meyer, Spotlight PA

SHRINK STATE:

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